Sydney’s top young entrepreneurs reveal secrets behind success

Sydney is flush with young entrepreneurs with big ideas and finding even bigger success with their own businesses. Here’s our guide to the most exciting and inspiring young entrepreneurs in 2022.

They’re the bright sparks and big thinkers behind some of Sydney’s most innovative and enterprising companies.

Young entrepreneurs are making significant strides in impacting their local and wider communities through a range of businesses specialising in everything from healthcare to computer technology and skateboarding.

With a keen eye for opportunities in a crowded marketplace, they’re all problem solvers with a flair for innovation.

Many say there are multiple benefits of running their own business, including flexibility, creative freedom and personal satisfaction.

They also say more could be done to address barriers for young people wanting to start a business of their own including financial constraints involved with start-up costs.

We take a look at some of Sydney’s top entrepreneurs who have shared insights into their business.

STEPH BUNCOMBE – MALABAR DANCE CREW

Steph Buncombe is the owner of Malabar Dance Crew.

Steph Buncombe is the owner of Malabar Dance Crew which provides classes for dance styles including jazz, cheerleading, tap, ballet, contemporary, hip hop and more.

I have always had a passion for dance and have been the owner of Malabar Dance Crew since December 2018. I started dancing at two years old and after working professionally in the dance industry I wanted to continue to share my knowledge and passion with the next generation of dancers. At Malabar Dance Crew we are passionate about creating happy, healthy and confident kids. My staff are wonderful role models and together we use positive teaching strategies that allow our students to create lifelong friendships, build confidence and become better dancers all while having fun in a supportive environment. It is challenging for new business owners to move out of an employee mindset and to ensure all the right systems are in place. When I became a business owner, I knew that creating the dance school of my dreams was not going to happen overnight and would take a lot of time, money, energy and sacrifice. There are some times that are harder than others and the last two years have been an example of that, however, I have always been told by my parents the hard times are when you need to dig a little deeper and work a little harder. For me the last two years were about upskilling professionally and networking with others in my industry to come back stronger together. Challenging times are made worth it the moment you see the happiness dance brings your students whether it be in class, on the stage or when they achieve a new skill. Owning a business may not always be easy but it is worth it.

DAVID AND JONATHAN GREEN – TEHO

Jonathan Green is the co-founder of Teho.

Teho was founded by David and Jonathan Green in July 2020 with the vision of creating Australia’s largest renewable energy organisation. Jonathan said:

I worked in multiple businesses across the energy space from retail energy start-ups to renewable energy installers. I noticed consumer literacy was quite low, no-one focused on the customer, and renewables were growing like crazy but there wasn’t a market leader. I saw a huge opportunity to come into the space to really help people make the switch to renewable energy. My brother and I had talked about it a lot and had a vague timeline, however when Covid hit, I was working for a big corporation and the way they handled things really accelerated that timeline. Boot-strapping the business meant we didn’t have heaps of free cash, however during Covid lockdowns we had a lot more free time than usual. The decision was made to focus on high-quality educational content to organically grow our brand online. We made lots of videos, wrote heaps of content and social media was our friend. The two biggest challenges at the start were cash flow and people. One of the greatest benefits of running your own business is the independence you have to make your own decisions. Every decision we make is guided by our values. Plus, you learn so much when you immerse yourself in your own business. At the very start you have to be a jack of all trades so while the learning curve is steep, it is very rewarding.

AIDAN JOHNSON – POP SKATE SCHOOL

Aidan Johnson is the founder of Pop Skate School.

The company was launched in 2020.

Aidan Johnson is the founder of Pop Skate School which helps young people on their journey into the skate community through coaching and teaching new tricks.

I began PoP! Skate School in November 2020. At the time I was working at Surf Dive Ski in the skateboarding section, helping people choose new gear or setting up custom boards. I was regularly asked about a local skateboarding coach that could help these newer skaters learn how to ride their boards and eventually learn tricks. After telling several people that unfortunately there was nothing local, I decided to start doing it myself. I had been skating for nearly four years at the time and had always had a passion for sharing the sport and skills I had managed to learn with the younger kids at my local skate park. In the last two years or so, we’ve managed to grow the business via positive word of mouth within our local community of Cherrybrook and the Hills District in general. We currently have three coaches, and are looking at expanding in the near future to help as many people as possible have the ability to learn to skateboard with a coach they feel comfortable with. Starting and running this small business within our local community is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had the privilege of being a part of. Being able to supply new jobs to people within the skateboarding sector as well as creating a support system for the youth of our community via a fun and artistic sport is something I am extremely passionate about. When I started the business, I had no expectations of where it would lead and found that as it grew it became more and more difficult to separate my personal and work life. You become so attached to your business, that it becomes hard to draw the line and know when it’s time to stop working and focus on yourself and your personal endeavours. Running a business has proven to be about learning on the spot, there is always a new challenge to tackle, and quite often it’s something completely different to what you may have knowledge in. It’s taught me that I need to be adaptive, and accept that sometimes I don’t have the answers myself and may need to seek help from others. I would love to see more young people starting businesses in fields they are passionate about. It’s an amazing way to share your skills and knowledge and create something to be proud of.

VARUN SHARMA – UPLIFT EDUCATION

Varun Sharma is the founder and managing director of Uplift Education Australia.

Varun Sharma is the founder and managing director of Uplift Education Australia, which has evolved into one of Sydney’s leading HSC academic coaching centres with approximately 1300 enrolled secondary high school students.

I started my business when I was 18 years old, straight after I finished my HSC at Macquarie Fields High School in 2010. As a Year 12 student, I’d heard many of my friends speak about the coaching centres they used to attend. Back then, it was common knowledge that many of the coaching centres in western Sydney were run like businesses, with the goal of cramming as many students into one class as possible. My peers would often comment the facilities were subpar with little room for them to move around the classrooms. By contrast, some of the coaching centres towards the city were far more professionally run with beautiful campuses and progressive learning spaces. I felt at the time the kids of western Sydney were desperate for a professionally run, progressive and modern coaching centre in their backyard. During the first year in business we focused on one-on-one tutoring, running classes at libraries, students’ homes and even cafes before setting up a small 90 sqm office in 2011. We now have 600 sqm with approximately 1300 students enrolled at our campus and more than 40 staff. Our focus is simple: to help our students score great results at school. Our best performing students have scored results as high as 99.95. In 2020, one of our students came 1st in NSW for Economics and 8th in NSW for English Advanced. The greatest challenge when I started the business was credibility. As an 18 year old, the business world did not take me very seriously. I struggled to secure a lease for our business because there weren’t many landlords in Liverpool willing to take on a young tenant with even younger students. We ended up starting our business on the outskirts of the Liverpool CBD. It wasn’t the safest part of town but we slowly built our brand and reputation. Eventually we moved into the heart of Liverpool but I wish there was more support from the council and the local business community at the start. If given the opportunity, I would love to mentor someone younger than myself and to support them. Small business is a great platform through which we can make a social impact. It might sound cliche, but more and more young people are gravitating towards organisations that do more than just collect revenue. There is a genuine desire to give back to the community that has given us so much. Small business has allowed me to do exactly that while also creating hundreds of jobs for young people.

LISA LIN – HEY MAMA, WE’VE GOT YOU

Lisa Lin is the co-founder of Hey Mama.

Lisa Lin is the co-founder of Hey Mama – a nutritional brand designed for new mums to help support their breastfeeding and post-partum journey by specialising in clean and delicious treats such as smoothies, cookies, pancakes.

Hey Mama, We’ve Got You was founded after my job was greatly affected by the Covid lockdown especially since the business was in the travel retail sector. The business dropped by 90 per cent and I was uncertain if the business would survive and what I was going to do if it didn’t. During this time. I went to visit my sister-in-law who recently became a first-time mum and was struggling with her milk supply. I noticed that she was eating two to three lactation cookies a day and they were quite high in sugar. Being a bit of a health nut, I wanted to get her something healthy and nutritious that she could have daily and that was dairy free so wouldn’t cause any tummy issues for the baby but I found that the only products I wanted to buy for her were from overseas and they did not ship to Australia. That’s when I saw a gap in the market. After months of working with a lactation consultant and a formulator, working on the branding ourselves and using the $10,000 holiday money I had saved, I launched the brand in November 2021. Within a few months of launching, we made more than $500,000 in sales and served more than 6000 mamas all over Australia. I had always wanted to start my own business but felt there ‘wasn’t enough time’ since I already had a full time job and more importantly I hadn’t found a problem I felt truly connected to and passionate enough to try and solve. Starting a new business can be challenging – you will likely be working non stop but you have flexibility to make time for coffee with someone or go to an event in the middle of the day and make up for the work at night or over weekend. Being a first time entrepreneur with a starting budget of just $10,000, I had to be extremely lean and strategic. Most of the initial capital went into inventory which is a challenge on its own as there are minimum order quantities for each product size and I wasn’t sure what size and price point would be acceptable for our target market especially since our product is the first of its kind. The biggest benefit of running your own business is the networking opportunities. I have met and connected with other like minded young entrepreneurs and we are able to share our ups and downs with each other and it’s a great feeling that a lot of us are trying to make positive changes to people’s lives.

JAY RAVEENDRAN – HOPEVANA

Jay Raveendran is the founder of Hopevana.

Jay Raveendran is the founder of Hopevana which provides physiotherapy and NDIS services across Sydney.

Hopevana started off as a dream. A dream to help the community access affordable physiotherapy that is highly compassionate yet effective. I decided to launch the business purely because of my experience with the health care system. To expand I felt that there was a lack of that extra edge of compassion. I had lost my voice in my 20s for several years. As I was seeking resolution, I was met with medical information however it lacked that sense of “I care about you, and I won’t give up on you”. As I became a physiotherapist, I realised it was an ideal profession to display compassion. And through compassion and real understanding we realised it being a massive factor in one’s healing potential, regardless of their physical presentation. The initial challenge of starting the business was putting together capital to create the infrastructure to run the business. I didn’t have much savings at the time to invest. So, I took a different approach where I used my services on a percentage split approach to mitigate this issue. As the business grew, I had renegotiated terms to ask for rent. Another challenge can be simply summarised with the question “will I ever get enough clients to be profitable”. This was a big challenge I faced initially. This was also reflective of my level of self-belief at the time. I soon realised that if we provide a compassionate yet effective service, people will tell others and that will ripple within the community. To my luck this simple thought became a reality. The benefit of running a small business is that we become entrenched into the hearts of the community members. In life there are moments where many feel alone and helpless especially when one has pain. Our business allows us to relinquish these feelings from others. Another benefit of running a small business is having more flexibility to create a vision that suits our own personality. Starting this business meant that I had to use my own instincts and of course trial and error to grow the business. I hope in the future more support is available and easily accessible so young entrepreneurs get a better fighting chance to make their dreams a reality.

ALANA KALITHRAKAS – A2 TUTORS

Alana Kalithrakas is the director of A2 Tutors.

Alana Kalithrakas is the director of A2 Tutors – a one-on-one tutoring service, supporting students from age 4-18 in their journey through school

In 2016 while completing my business degree, I started to tutor students out of pure passion. Three students soon turned into 11, filling up my calendar. In January 2018, I received an influx of inquiries from parents who had heard about me from their friends. It was at that point I needed to make the decision as to whether to decline the new students due to my capacity, or to register as a business. I have an endless amount of gratitude for the decision I made that day. Today, we have supported more than 550 students across Sydney. At A2 Tutors, we are lucky enough to call many of our clients our promoters. We call many of our clients ‘raving fans’ as they do not need an incentive to refer their friends. What I have been taught is that a successful business is one that primarily works without you being there. Over the last four years, I have worked hard to build systems and a team that supports me to do that. Therefore, for me, the greatest benefit of running a business has been the opportunity to be able to mould my lifestyle the way I dream it to be, while also doing what I love and supporting the community. I would love to see young adults given more opportunity to network with young entrepreneurs and to be inspired and learn from them. This would include early business challenges, as well as fundamental lessons around mindset, money, goal setting and more. Ideally, this information would be provided in students’ final year at high school.

JAMES AVRAMIDES – GETAWAYZ NSW

James Avramides is the founder of Getawayz NSW.

James Avramides is the founder of Getawayz NSW which specialises in end-to-end short-term property management including guest communications, reviews, marketing and property maintenance.

When I was 25, I purchased a property in Potts Point that I planned to put on Airbnb. After 12 months of renovating and styling the home, it was launched with great success. This led me to believe that I could do this at scale. I wasn’t satisfied with the standard pathway of a corporate job and wanted to take the risk of launching my own business in 2019. As Getawayz NSW has gone from strength to strength, I am so grateful to have made the decision. I adore being able to be my own boss, doing what I love every day. I also get to choose the wonderful staff that work alongside me as well as make sure the business is a positive place to work. Unlike my previous corporate roles, I can be as creative as I want and get to make a difference to showcase my talents. I also have mastered a multitude of skills since launching Getawayz NSW. You get to become an expert in a variety of different skills. When I opened the business my famous last words were “What could be the worst thing that could happen”? We then faced the tragic NSW bushfires which devastated the tourism industry, followed by the pandemic and now the floods. It’s been a wild ride, emotionally taxing and there were many times where I could have easily shut shop. We used our business knowledge to make everything work in our favour, by using our interior design skills to help style homes for clients during the pandemic to help them achieve better results once the lockdown laws were eased. As a business owner, getting through the last few years has been so rewarding, I feel like we as a team can achieve anything now. I didn’t realise before opening the business how much of a toll it can take on your mental health. I have worked a good 12-16 hour days and haven’t had a day off since launching. I wish there were support groups for young entrepreneurs, as many of your family and friends sometimes don’t understand the extent it can take on your mental health. I would love to see more community groups for entrepreneurs

EMILY BOBIS – COMPASS IOT

Emily Bobis, from Compass IOT.

Compass IoT is a road intelligence company that uses vehicle data to improve road safety, infrastructure, and city planning.

We founded Compass IoT in 2018 and use car data to help transport professionals build better, safer cities. Compass started for two reasons: there was a clear gap between the way we designed our roads and the way people actually used them, and the transport industry was incredibly reliant on hardware to gather mobility data. A big chunk of Compass IoT’s growth and brand awareness was driven by partnership building, listening, and empathy-led sales. Where people often go wrong in sales is they treat relationships as transactional and don’t spend enough time building genuine connections that provide long-term value. One of the greatest challenges for any start-up is balancing growth and stability. There is a strategic interest in chasing opportunities that get you ahead in the market. But there also needs to be an investment in the stability of the things you’ve already created by putting in processes to support growth, addressing technical debt, or fixing education gaps. The biggest benefit of running a small business is being able to make a tangible difference. I get to see first-hand the impacts of what we do for our customers and how it’s changing the future of roads. Our data was used to halve crashes on one of Sydney’s busiest roads and to measure the road deterioration caused by the Lismore floods, which was featured as an official Google Cloud case study. There’s way more support for young people now than there was even two years ago. Most universities have incubators and start-up resources that alumni and students can draw on, as well as a lot of privately-run programs. On the flip side, because there are now so many different resources, I think the waters have been muddied. Founders should read the fine print of any programs and resources — not everyone has your best interest at heart or will suit your needs.

BENJAMIN HICKMAN – HEALTH ALLIANCE MOVEMENT

Benjamin Hickman is the director of Health Alliance Movement.

Benjamin Hickman is the director of Health Alliance Movement which provides experiences, resources, education and dance classes to support clients’ health and function.

Health Alliance Movement was started after the first Sydney lockdown with an aim of helping people reconnect to their body through exercise and engage again with their surrounding community. We have always been a hybrid clinic and dance studio that offers allied health services, dance and exercise classes and programs for anyone with or without pain or disability. Although this business was born out of passion and a desire to help the community, it has been hard as we opened and entered the second lockdown after two weeks of business. For new allied health businesses this was particularly hard as without an established reputation and the lack of opportunity to network with other medical professionals we had a lot of stress trying to pay rent and ongoings. Luckily I’ve been a dance teacher for the last couple years and repurposed our business to running online classes or events outdoors within our limits, which helped us get through this period. Since then we have become more of a hybrid business that not only includes allied health services such as physiotherapy, exercise physiology and personal training, but we run nightly dance and exercise classes, rent our treatment space and studio to other small business owners and actively participate in community workshops and social events. For myself it has been such a great experience watching the business grow through doing the work I love and having the space hired by so many different organisers of health and fitness classes that our community grows in so many ways. With a bit of luck and passion, I could never have imagined we would create this space that serves not just the business but also the wider community that needs a physical location for what they do.

KURTIS BOSLEY – CBK HOSPITALITY CONSULTING

Kurtis Bosley is the managing director of CBK Hospitality Consulting.

Kurtis Bosley is a restauranter and managing director of CBK Hospitality Consulting which offers full bar consultations to the hospitality sector including assistance with bar design and bespoke menu creation.

I founded CBK Hospitality Group in 2016 at the age of 25. The original business model was built around a consulting company that worked for business owners to do everything from building menus, training staff, and designing bars/restaurant spaces. In 2018, I opened my first restaurant in Dee Why. The consulting company continued through this time and in 2021 I opened my second restaurant, Banco Manly after 12 months of delays through Covid. Today we have more than 60 staff working at the company. I am also the national brand ambassador for Glenmorangie & Ardbeg Whiskies. The day to day challenges are forever changing and no two days are the same when it comes to business. Doing it alone has compounded many of the stress points when trying to run and build a small business especially without any financial support or backing. Since opening my first restaurant, the many sleepless night, consistently working 16 hours a day for four years taking its toll and the emotionally draining nature of running a business in hospitality has almost broken me a number of times, but to see our team grow, flourish and find themselves within this company and to have a space where guests can experience an escapism from day to day life is well worth it. I honestly believe that the positive nature of the business and what we are trying to achieve in putting our guests first will forever be the most positive thing that I can give to others. The challenges of starting this business need to be written in a book one day, there’s pages worth that can never be truly understood to those outside of our business! I believe my one true regret or lesson I can pass to other young entrepreneurs is seek assistance, do it with a partner and ask for help. When you become most vulnerable and put yourself out there to your immediate world, you’ll be surprised by how many are willing to give you a hand to get you through the tough times.

MAX AGAPITOS – AGSPIRE KIDS FITNESS

Max Agapitos is the founder of Agspire Kids Fitness.

Max Agapitos is the founder of Agspire Kids Fitness in Maroubra which holds strength and conditioning classes for primary and high school aged children.

I created Agspire Kids Fitness with the intention of providing low confidence children with a personalised and structured program without the competition and expectation of learning a sport, where they could develop these fine and gross motor skills. I was studying primary education at university and while on placement I informally noticed kids who were healthier and more athletic were more disciplined and confident in the classroom. Something as simple as being able to write properly came down to their fine motor skills and many were lacking in that. I noticed that many sports have a particular focus on drills but never enough coaches pushing kids to focus on strength skills. Agspire has raised awareness on a community level, supporting local charities that raise funds for children’s opportunities to remain active and engaged. On an international level, I have volunteered in schools in Kenya and Tanzania to provide sports equipment and PDHPE-style classes for kids. Along with this, I was always looking for an opportunity to push kids’ fitness. The benefits of running your own business include creative freedom and personal satisfaction for working so closely with clients. Every parent and child is trusting in my service and the sense of achievement from this relationship is endlessly motivating. When you have a positive influence, it’s not for someone else in the hierarchical structure – it’s for you and your client, which is intrinsically satisfying. We live in a nation full of opportunity. If you have an idea and there’s a need for it, then you can make it.